10 Solid Practices For Increasing Your Strength & Size!

If you’re reading this post you’re probably looking to either increase your size or strength right? Well I thought I’d post up some practices that you should follow on your road to reaching your goals. This is not an A to Z guide on building muscle and strength, but it should give you something to [...]

If you’re reading this post you’re probably looking to either increase your size or strength right? Well I thought I’d post up some practices that you should follow on your road to reaching your goals.

This is not an A to Z guide on building muscle and strength, but it should give you something to think about. If you have any questions or comments, post them at the bottom of the page.

Practices for increasing strength and size:

Your diet is the first key to success. There’s no argument about it. Neglect your diet and you’ll neglect your goals. Make sure you eat the right foods spaced over 5-7 meals. You should use a BMR calculator to work out how many calories you need each day. From there you can tweak your diet to suit your goals.

Be consistent. Consistency is the second essential element required to reach your goals. If you train for a few months, go off it, come back on, goo off again don’t expect to get anywhere real fast. You need to stay focused on your short term and long term goals. Don’t take more than a week off weight training if you can help it. If you do take a week off, don’t let your diet slip. Keep your eye on the prize!

Less is more. Overtraining is one of the most common mistakes made by new lifters. Make you sessions short and intense, and give yourself plenty of time between workouts for muscle recovery. Again I reiterate, intensity! For more on this subject see my less is more post.

Use supplements wisely. Supplements won’t get you big on their own! What they will do is fill the nutritional gaps in your diet and help you get nutrients into the body quickly when they’re needed most. Don’t replace food with supplements.

Technique before weight. It’s not the amount of weight you lift, it’s the way you lift it. All movements should focus on contraction and stretch of the muscle. You should never need momentum to help move the weight. Select a weight that allows you to just complete your set with good technique.

Select the right workout. It’s critical that you select a workout that meets your goals. To many people use the wrong workout routines and end up giving up due to lack of results. If you’re looking for a good muscle building workout try my 4 day split workout. You can find more workout routines here.

Don’t get stuck in a routine. It’s easy for a lifter to get stuck in the same routine, same weights, same days, etc etc etc. Not only is this boring as hell, you’re not progressing with your training! Use intensity techniques like drop sets, supersets, tri-sets and negatives to shock your muscles into growth. Change your routine as soon as you stop progressing.

Track your progress. A workout log is your best training partner. I know you’ve heard it all before, but until you start using a log regularly you won’t realize just how much you come to rely on it for information about your workouts.

Stay focused when you train. Training is not all about talking, playing with your phone, and wandering around the gym trying to look good. It’s all about you reaching your goals. Get in there and focus on the workout you have ahead of you.

Never be afraid to try something new. Whether bit an exercise, supplement or workout routine, you should never shy away form new methods of growing bigger and stronger. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

2 Comments

Pau

10.11.2008

I am 16 years old and I am very thin, but I want to get big. I am growing and I want to know if following this weight training program can have bad effects on my growing. Would my head look small by getting my body bigger?

Jeff-Admin

10.12.2008

Hi Pau,

You would have to gain A LOT of size for your head to look small on your body, so I wouldn’t worry about that.